Sonic the Hedgehog, Emerald story
by Leafy-san
Summary: Piercing blue eyes, staring at his own, a gentle smile on his face... and then there was nothing.
1. Chapter 1

_Piercing blue eyes, staring at his own, a gentle smile on his face... and then there was nothing. _

_He couldn't breathe. His small hands, desperate for life, desperate for anything, clawed out of its once protective white blanket which was the first to slip into the deep abyss below. Too young to think, he continued to fling his arms up and down, his mouth painfully filling up with water. Unable to hope yet too young to even comprehend death, an unstoppable fear shrouded his blood-shot vision; and the pain was soon too much to handle. Water entered his lungs, and he didn't even begin to understand what was happening... but a very strong, solid thought was formed as the four-month old baby struggled with the inevitable. He wanted it to end, wanted everything to stop..._

"Nggg..."

"Izzy? What's wrong? Please, wake up!" A small voice of a young boy broke through the dull silence, echoing through his dying world in an attempt to return him to the land of the living. Sure enough the startled figure known as Izzy shot forward, his eyes snapping open in complete surprise. An audible sigh of relief came from his savior. "A-are you all right?"

"Mmm." Izzy wordlessly replied, closing his eyes once more and pressing two gloved fingers against the bridge of his jet black nose. What a nightmare... but it seemed so real...

"You sure? I could get you a glass of cold minerals, if you need anything to drink." The young boy continued, a large hint of obvious concern in his voice. "You don't look so good, and I know--I've read plenty of books that have echidnas in'em!"

"Oh... you mean all those pop-up books I bought you?" The boy nodded proudly and Izzy smiled, his mood lightening up a little as his gaze went towards the wall clock. "Well, I've also come across some pretty detailed documentaries myself about little foxes, and it's already way past your bed-time, Walt."

"Hey, don't look at me... you woke me up you know." Walt yawned, still clutching one of the stuffed chao that Izzy'd made for him. "But... you're gonna be okay, right? Right?"

"It was just a bad dream... I think I've gotten a firm hold over myself now." Izzy smirked, placing a reassuring hand over the young fox's head. Walt never really did cease to surprise him. "For a ten year old; you think too much... but I appreciate it."

"Heehee, no problem." The bushy tailed fox allowed himself a big smile. It wasn't everyday the green echidna that's taken care of him for as long as he can remember ever praised him for anything. That being said, if he was going to get more of that in the future then he'd better stay on his uncle's good side. "All right, I'm gonna go back to bed. Night night."

"G'night."

Izzy waited patiently for Walt to close the wooden door behind him before slumping back on his chair and sighing in disturbed fatigue. A nightmare was no stranger, it's plagued him for years, but this was the first time he had experienced one in such greusome detail. It was like being immersed into the past itself. Was he really drowning? Why was he so young? Was it an accident? Walt's father had told him a few nights before he and his wife were killed in a forest fire that he found him on the shore of the beach, looking very healthy. The description definitely did not fit a drowned, four month old echidna. Izzy sighed once more, his gloved hands running through the messy, vertically pointed strands on his head. He didn't look much like an echidna either. Perhaps he really was something else... but that couldn't be, Pops told Izzy himself that he was indeed an echidna after performing some laboratory experiments on him, and Pops was 'never' wrong. Besides, what could have all those damned needles been for?

"I need to get out more..." The green echidna mumbled, his voice now soft as a whisper. He had been so busy taking care of the young fox all these years... but of course, it would not be called diligence if it didn't have its fair share of rewards. Walt was growing to be an excellent marksman, just like his father. And he himself had grown more mature... it seemed like only yesterday when 'he' was the one being taken care of. Seven years just seemed to fly by so quickly. "hah, maybe I should throw in a girlfriend while I'm at it."

In fact, now that Izzy thought about it, he didn't even know the people in his own village very well. Working inside Pops' workshop, teaching Walt the tricks of the trade in the beach or in their backyard, that was all he usually did. And both didn't take very long to finish... so what really killed all of Izzy's free time was meditation. Truth be told it was actually the one thing he needed the most, because it helped contain yet another major problem; a kind of... disease that came to life when he did. A flesh-eating virus that felt like it would consume him at any given moment, if not for the bio-augmented gloves and shoes that Walt's dad invented specially for him. It had a kind of greenhouse effect on the gaseous, acidic energy that seeped out of his hands and feet, trapping it until the substance evaporated completely. Pops said that the only cure would be to learn how to effectively control the greenish overflow inside him--and that's where meditation came in.

Izzy closed his eyes, yearning for sleep to take him over once more. True, if he didn't know any better then that would have been all there was to it, a simple, hard to cure virus... but his other dreams have somehow clued to the origins of his condition--hinting that maybe it was something much more than spontaneous combustion. For now though, he was just glad Holt thought ahead and created a pair of gloves and shoes for nearly every size, God rest his soul.

But all things aside, there was a point to what he said. He definitely could use a vacation... and Pops did say something about Knothole being pleasant in spring.

_Sonic the Hedgehog - Emerald story, Chapter 1; 'Odd beginnings'. "The more things change, the more they stay the same."_

It was a hot day in the productive forest village of Knothole, the sun was in the peak of the sky, giving off strenuous amounts of heat. But because of all the incredibly large trees generously giving out shade to every nook and cranny, one would probably have to stay still for a full ten minutes to even notice the climate... which also didn't seem to happen often, what with the fast-paced environment and impatient crowds.

But no one could blame them, years of being constantly troubled by the famed doctor Robotnik had left nearly the whole population wanting a piece of retribution. But for the most part, the highly respected king of castle acorn had a rare talent for keeping the peace. Besides, it had been quite a while since the evil doctor trampled the grounds of Knothole, so all was well.

In fact, all was great. Many of the heroes that were responsible for foiling Robotnik's plans were staying in Knothole for the rest of the season, their deeds etched in stone. Among those were Miles "Tails" Prower, genius two-tailed fox and partner to the legendary Sonic, the hedgehog; Julie-Su, the pink cybernetic echidna from Echidnapolis; Knuckles, the red echidna from one of the nobler tribes whose ability to influence the chaos emeralds remained unequalled; and Amy Rose, the pink hedgehog. All of the local heroes including princess Sally, Mina and Bunnie Rabbot were also present. As for the blue streak himself, there was still no sign of him since the last battle against Robotnik... but they all seemed to believe he was all right. Tails reassured everyone in advance that Sonic was simply around Station Square getting a few things done and would be coming back in a month or so.

Three weeks have passed since the team's fateful encounter against Robotnik and his former, most dangerous invention yet. The bar, once a very melancholy place now bursted with continuous activity... the fact that it had become a daily hangout for the heroes of Knothole 'might' have helped too.

"Aw, darn it." Bunnie snapped her fingers, her red dart missing the board hanging on a wall with a drawing of Robotnik clipped on it. "It's kinda hard to aim."

"See? What did I tell you." A yellow mongoose wearing a white unbuttoned polo over a black shirt, blue faded jeans and orange sun glasses smirked. "You can't beat me."

"That's because you practiced on it everyday since Sonic beat you, Ash." Mina shook her head, a smug little grin on her face. "Bunnie's just played this game once."

"Actually, we both missed. But mine was closer, so there." Ash grunted.

"Yeah, but you told him he'd win if you missed."

"I said no such thing. Besides, he chickened out when I wanted revenge on him for round two!"

"Wait, if you 'beat' him like you said, then why in the world did you want revenge for winning?"

Bunnie just sighed as the two teenaged mongoose bickered with each other again. She really couldn't care less if she lost, it was just a game... what really bothered her was that every conversation had to include Sonic. It was annoying that everyone kept talking about him--she was already starting to miss the guy and there they were, reminding her of the blue hedgehog again and again. Sure it was fun hanging out with the others, but now Sonic's absence was starting to depress her. She really just needed to see if he was doing okay... and knowing some of Sonic's closest friends a little too well, she wasn't alone.

These days, her best friend Sally just spent most of her time walking around Knothole like some kind of ghost. And Amy seemed down on the dumps too. Mina didn't show it very well, but she probably missed him just as much, if not the most among all of them. But she had to admit, it would be pretty funny if Sonic did come home.

His break-up with Sally just seemed to open up a near infinite amount of possibilities, something that Amy was definitely looking forward to. Even Mina was pretty flushed about the subject as well, though a lot more subtle than the naive pink hedgehog.

"And not only that I... hey, what are you grinning about, you didn't win!" Ash pointed towards the baffled rabbit. "Wanna have a go at it again?"

"Oh, I wanna have a go I wanna have a go!" A small voice interrupted the very wierd conversation, and they were surprised to see an even smaller fox with brown fur and black highlights already looking up at the dart board, a silly smile on his face.

"My my, what a cute little boy." Bunnie smiled, totally ignoring Ash's challenge.

"Oooh, and who's this cutey?" Mina squealed, totally ignoring Ash.

"Eh? Who the heck're you?" Ash asked rudely, his sights now set on the new face. He couldn't

"My name's Walt, thanks for asking!" The fox's smile grew wider. "And who the heck are you?"

Ash sighed as Bunnie and Mina exchanged chuckles. That was a pretty insulting and sarcastic choice of words, but it sounded like the boy didn't even know it 'was' insulting. "Crazy parrot. My name's Ash, don't forget it."

"Okie dokie. But don't forget mine either, so we're even now, okay? Okay!" Walt said quickly, pointing towards the dart board. "Can I play?"

"That's a really neat name." Mina smiled, offering Walt a dart. "Sure you can play."

"Pft, yeah, whatever. Just keep up with me, kid." The dark haired yellow furred mongoose grinned, skillfully throwing a dart. It imbedded itself onto doctor Eggman's paper chin. "Hah, beat that!"

"If you say so... where's the bulls-eye?"

"Why bother knowing where the bulls-eye is? You aren't going to beat me any--" Ash's potential monologue was interrupted by a forceful nudge from Mina. "The eye."

"Which one?"

"Doesn't matter, both are good."

"Both huh? All right." Walt turned to Mina, with an open palm outstretched. "You and miss rabbit are both very nice ladies. May I have another dart?"

"Here you go, sweetie." Mina handed him another dart, curious as to what he was planning to do.

"Thank you very much!" The young fox happily took the second dart and; flashing a small smile on both Bunnie and Mina, playfully threw both darts at the same time and hitting 'both' Eggman's left and right eye dead on.

"Wh-what...?" Ash gawked, his jaw nearly reaching the floor. "No way..."

Mina had exactly the same expression. Bunnie on the other hand wasn't as surprised as she thought she'd be. "Ouch... quite an ego-blow there, mister cool."

"Oh, wait a second!" Walt pointed towards the board again, disappointment in his voice. "I threw two darts when I was supposed to throw just one... aw, man. I lost."

"Th-that's right! You did." Ash took a deep breath, trying to regain his composure. He spent nearly a month working on his aim, damnit. "Hahah, I won!"

The violet haired mongoose just stared at him in amazement. "You are reaaally something, aren't you?"

"Yeah, the best there is."

Just as Mina was about to start yet another fight with Ash the bar doors opened and a hooded figure with what appeared to be green spikes on its head entered, calling out to the small fox beside them.

"Woopsy, I gotta go." Walt smiled sheepishly, shoving the bag he carried a little more towards his lower shoulder. "Thanks for letting me play."

"No problem, come back anytime." Mina replied, her attention glued on the hooded figure. "Who's that, Walt?"

"Oh, he's my uncle."

"Your uncle...?" The female mongoose whispered to the fox, a little surprised. "He doesn't look like you..."

"No no, not a blood related uncle... my parents died when I was about two years old, and he's taken care of me since then."

"Oooh, wow. How old is he?"

"Sixteen."

"What? Then how old are you?"

"Ten." Walt answered, earning another jaw-dropping expression from Mina. Ash simply kept quiet, knowing that at least the spiky headed dude was respectable. "Sorry, but I really have to go to--"

"No need, I'm already here."

"Whoa!" Bunnie was shocked to see the hooded figure already in front of Walt. It was like her sense of sight didn't even pick him up as he moved... like it was in slow motion or something. "Did y'all see that?"

"You know, the wierd thing is I didn't." Mina shook her head slowly, a confused look on her face. "You must be Walt's un--uhm..."

The figure's hood was already off, the shadows retreating to reveal a very pleasing sight. He looked like Knuckles, except his fur was green and his demeanor seemed so relaxed... his nose was also quite small and pointing slightly upwards, almost like a girl. But the most curious thing about him was that the spikes on his head were scattered around instead of being concentrated on the lower back... she'd certainly never seen an echidna like this one before--not that she'd seen very plenty in her time, but it was still pretty unusual. What really got her though, were his eyes; mysterious, piercing silver orbs that looked like it could bore a hole through anything if given the chance... his gaze held such intensity, yet at the same time; seemed so kind... it was hypnotizing.

"Pssst, hey Mina, you okay?" Ash snapped his fingers in front of the mongoose's face. "It's rude to just stare like that."

"H-huh? Oh... sorry." Mina smiled sheepishly, earning a jealous grunt from her boyfriend. "My name's Mina... pleased to meet you."

"Oh, heheh... likewise." The green figure replied, a little embarrased at the sudden attention... but somehow he already expected it. Walt could make friends with anybody. "My name's Izzy."

"Izzy, huh? That's a cute name..."

"Mina!"

"What? I didn't say anything!"

"Huh? Then who did?" Ash looked across Mina to see a grinning Bunnie, her eyes glazed over. "Okay--now something is terribly wrong here... he's not 'that' good-looking is he?"

Bunnie just nodded in reply, and Ash nearly yelled in frustration.

"And? So what if he 'is' good looking?" Mina asked sternly.

"More good looking than me?"

"Oh for heaven's sake, stop being so vain Ash!"

"You didn't answer my question Mina!"

"Would it change anything between us if I did answer your dumb question?"

"Oh, so now my feelings are dumb?"

"It has nothing to do with that! It's your pride that's the problem!"

"Sonic is the prideful one, not me!"

"Don't bring Sonic into this!"

Izzy just stared on, wondering if it was his fault as the two lovers started fighting yet again. He didn't even know he 'was' attractive. "Errr, Walt? We should go."

"Aw, we're leaving Knothole already?"

"Of course not, we just got here... but if we have any intention on staying for a while, then we've gotta look for a place to stay." Izzy smirked. "Unless you wanna camp out."

"N-no! You're right, we should go look for a place to stay..." Walt sighed. If there was one thing that really freaked him out, it would be the creepy crawlies that hailed from the insect family. "let's go?"

Izzy looked back towards the bickering mongoose and nodded. He never really was comfortable with crowds.

"Hold on there." Bunnie said, finally snapping out of her little trance. "You two need a place ta stay?"

"Uhm... yeah." The green echidna answered, his gaze meeting hers. "I only noticed now... your eyes have a solid green color."

"Yep, is somethin' wrong...?"

"Nah..." Izzy shook his head, his face a mix between embarrasment and curiosity. "it's just, I've never seen eyes of that color before... pretty."

Bunnie's eyes widened at the compliment and she felt her cheeks grow warm. He was certainly something else. "Ah, er, well... th-thank you... uhm... heh..."

Izzy smiled, her half cybernetic body not disturbing him even the slightest bit. He turned to leave when he and Walt were both stopped again by the same rabbit. "Wait, I wasn't finished... you and Walt could hang out in my place... if ya want ta, that is."

"Really? You mean it?" Walt asked, almost oozing with innocent gratitude. A place to stay meant no bugs!

The echidna on the other hand wasn't quite as enthusiastic. "Uhm... are you sure? We've only just met and I wouldn't want to impose or anything..."

"Naw, heheh... heck, maybe having a gentleman like you at home could make a lady out of a street smart bunny such as m'self." Bunnie grinned, which of course Izzy took with a small blush of his own. "But it's definitely roomy enough... most of my old robot workshops have been replaced so you two can even have a room each if ya enjoy some time to yourself."

"That's... convenient." Izzy whispered, a little relieved. Privacy was an essential part of his life. "How much would you like per week?"

"Haha, don't, please. Havin' some company will be more than enough for me."

To say that Izzy was surprised was an understatement. All throughout his life--since the tragedy eight years ago, he was inclined to believe that everything had a price... even Pops had asked for something in return for sheltering them. Yet this pretty eyed rabbit seemed happy with just being able to help... it certainly tugged on his heart strings. Very soon his expression mellowed down to an even softer look. "Thank you, I... appreciate your generosity. Really."

For a while Bunnie was at a loss for words... to her obvious shock, she truly believed everything he said. A highly unusual amount of trust for a stranger--well, almost a stranger anyway. "Darlin', you saying that means a lot to me."

"Well then, I'm glad Walt and I aren't the only happy ones, miss..." Izzy's silver eyes immediately shot to Walt, who shrugged sympathetically in return.

"Aheheh, I forgot to ask too..."

"I reckon you boys don't know who I am?" The rabbit grinned, and the two smiled sheepishly. "Say no more... my name's Bunnie. Bunnie Rabbo--"

Bunnie was suddenly interrupted by the clattering of plates and utensils. Soon enough the bar was filled with frightened yelps as the shaking grew more and more intense. Adding to her surprise was the fact that Izzy had just thrown what looked to be a gun of some sort to Walt, and then ran off with him.

"Bunnie!" Mina called, trying to keep her balance as the ground shook harder. "Is it another Badnik?"

"No idea girlfriend," The rabbit answered, the boost feature of her cybernetic legs humming to a start. "but if it 'is' a Badnik... it's probably really big."

Izzy gawked at the monstrosity that had just set foot on Knothole. It was a huge mechanized robot, bearing doctor Robotnik's insignia... he had never really met the mad doctor in person, but he 'has' seen him and that emblem in the television and in the occasional book more often than not--Izzy even had a couple of run-ins with the robot's smaller brethren in the past. The green echidna stared on, noticing that the being's huge metallic legs were connected to some equally hard looking metal pipes and shafts, that seemed to form into a ballistic weapon when it reached the robot's upper limbs. His theory was proven right when something explosive was indeed shot out of the cannon, levelling one of the wooden homes of Knothole and injuring some of the inhabitants that were near the area. Gritting his teeth, Izzy stopped himself from attacking it head on and wasted no time in searching for a weakness. It didn't look like it had anyone operating it, but it did have a head of some sort shaped like half an egg, with two yellow tinted optic sensors that looked like eyes...

"Whoa, that is one nasty looking robot." Walt muttered, unsure of what exactly to do. "Izzy, do you think this has happened to Knothole before?"

"Yep; I've read all about the freedom fighters and their epics... Bunnie Rabbot, Mina the Mongoose, Tails Prower, Amy Rose, and of course, the infamous Sonic the hedgehog."

"Huh? Then why didn't you tell them?"

"It seemed to me that they'd be more relieved to see a potential friend, than a potential fan." Izzy unzipped his shoulder bag, removing a black and brown modified dart gun. "Besides, there's a certain red echidna in that group who just might be able to help me re-trace my past--and maybe even tell me something about the markings on my chest."

"Oh, you mean Knuckles?" Walt asked, unzipping his own shoulder bag and removing three dart ammo clips.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Heheh, I watch the television more than you do, and Knuckles comes out a lot." Walt threw Izzy a clip, which the echidna gracefully caught and loaded onto the gun. "But that's in a place called Central City... Knothole just doesn't seem to pop up when I'm watching."

"Well, it pops up in the books often enough." Izzy said frankly, handing Walt the weapon. "I need you to do me a favor."

Meanwhile; in the outskirts of Knothole, a frustrated maroon echidna sped towards the sound of the explosions, being very careful not to accidentally ram his head into a tree and knock it down... seriously. But oddly enough, Knothole's condition was the least of his worries. 'Argh, the master emerald... could they have taken it? Damnit, Knuckles you numbskull! How could I have left it unprotected...'

The echidna who referred to himself as Knuckles in a rather confusing train of thought finally managed to make it to the entrance of the town, skidding to a quick halt. There was no doubt about it, he felt an incredible surge of energy; energy that could have only come from the master emerald, in Knothole. How that came to be seemed impossible, since only he, Sonic and Tails knew the exact coordinates after it was relocated... but who was he to go against reality?

"Eggman's robot probably has it... humph, this'll be easy picking for my fis--oh shoot!" Knuckles interrupted himself, lifting one of the very large rocks surrounding the gate and throwing it towards the bullet that was shot out of the mech's cannon, aimed on one of Knothole's younger inhabitants. The resulting explosion threw the kid off his feet, but at least he wasn't dead. "Phew... looks like I'm going to have to help evacuate these people first. Oh well, at least today wasn't as boring as I expec--aw man!"

Hurling another rock above the unlucky boy, the bullet was once again parried... this time it was personal. "Nobody interrupts my thoughtful words of wisdom twice in a ro--kid, watch out!"

Bunnie couldn't believe it... her cybernetic arm couldn't even dent the metal! Carefully hovering over the Eggbot's shoulders, the persistent rabbit continued to throw punches, hoping that she'd get lucky and finally manage to hit a soft spot... which was highly unlikely since even the eyes seemed to be just as hard as the rest of the monster.

"Miss Bunnie! Miss Bunnie!"

"What in the world..." Bunnie looked down to see Walt waving, and felt a small weight lift itself from her chest. She had no idea what had happened to them since they ran off... "thank goodness you're okay--wait, where's Izzy?"

"He's okay, but I need you to help me with something!"

"Gimme a sec!" Bunnie immediately flew down to where the young fox was, curious as to what he wanted. "Need anythin'?"

"Yep yep... can you lift me up right beside the head of that thing?" Walt asked, unholstering both dart guns strapped on his belt. "It's too far away from here to work..."

"Wait, you're gonna shoot the eye? But that thing's impenetrable, I tried."

"I know what you mean, but the high velocity gun springs paired with the needle explosive darts I've loaded can hopefully stick on the bullet proof glass long enough for it to explode... at least, that's what Izzy said."

"Needle explosive darts...?" Bunnie asked, but carried Walt out of harm's way before he could answer when a piece of concrete wall very rudely landed on where he was originally standing. "never thee mind honey, you can explain later."

"Okay..."

Soon enough the two climbed to a point where the robot's eyes were in a reasonably close distance.

"Well... maybe this is good enough." Walt aimed both weapons at one eye and pulled the trigger, but the needles bounced off as it smashed onto the lens. The crack that ensued lessened his and Bunnie's alarmed states though. "Oops, still kinda far... I guess we need to be really close and drive it in like a nail gun."

"All right, now's my chance!" The red echidna down below finally caught an opening and jumped off of the ground, having gained enough speed to throw an incredibly powerful punch onto the robot's torso. But just as his near indestructable spiked fist was about to collide with the near indestructable metal of the Eggbot, his glove was hit by a small dart... followed by a not so small explosion.

"AAARGH!" Knuckles was blown away by the point blank force of the blast, crashing onto a nearby tree. As soon as the pain had dulled, he opened his eyes to see the boy from earlier once 'again' the target of the robot's cannon. "Hey! That's not fair!"

"This is the closest I can get, Walt! Any closer and we'll be in the sights of that thing!" Bunnie yelled, trying her hardest to hover them out of the robot's line of sight.

"Hmmm... this is still too far for the darts to pierce..." The brown and black fox whispered to himself, changing one of the gun's ammo clip with a different type from his shoulder bag and aiming both at the same eye. "but maybe if I do this..."

Walt pulled the trigger on one of the guns, and as expected the needle bounced off--but not before making a bigger crack on the eye. Giving the next shot all of his focus, Walt kept aim and let loose the dart in the second gun, this time carefully aimed on one of the bigger cracks that formed. Just as he had imagined it, the dart's point managed to get by deep enough to stay still. "Yes!"

"You think the explosion'll do?"

"That dart I just used is filled with a small emount of extremely concentrated modified nitro glycerin... I actually had to beg Izzy to let me use them." Walt smiled, motioning for Bunnie to move them away. "The only drawback is that when it gets riled up, it takes a while for it to go unstable... actually, it's more of a safety feature, heheheh."

"It's really that poweful?"

Bunnie's question was answered by a loud booming sound that echoed all throughout Knothole, the disastrous explosion that came from the dart making the robot's head recoil backwards. Both its eyes and part of its egg-like head was pretty much decimated, but the damned thing was still operational.

'W-Walt!' Came a voice from inside the small fox's head, which he was already used to; Izzy talked to him this way when there was something wrong with his gloves, because his sickness disabled speech. For the life of him Walt didn't know how he did it, since he sure as heck can't... wait. His gloves!

'Izzy! Why'd you take off your gloves?' Walt thought back, wondering if the echidna could hear it.

'Never mind that; Walt I need you to knock that robot down on his back...! Urk... the mental shield I made is sucking too much energy, I can't move... I'm right behind it, and I need you to make it fall on me!'

Walt's eyes widened, realizing what Izzy had planned out... the green energy that seeped out of his body also acted as a kind of super acid... and his mental shield was an incredibly focused and fixed thought, like a protective coating that stopped the substance from overflowing and destroying his body. He needed the robot to fall on him so he could melt whatever part of it he manages to touch. 'But... it looks heavy.'

'I-I can't keep this up much longer... I need you to knock it down now!'

"Walt? You ok?" Bunnie asked, having already landed them on stable ground.

Walt didn't answer at first, but soon let out a disheveled sigh and aimed both his dart guns towards the blind bot. "Please stand back miss Bunnie, I'm gonna empty this clip and knock it off its feet--"

"YOU STUPID RUSTBUCKET!" Knuckles suddenly appeared from behind them, dashing towards his recently crowned most hated enemy in the entire universe, at breakneck speed. There was absolutely no way it was going to get destroyed without feeling his fist first. "EAT THIS!"

Walt blinked. It all happened in a heartbeat. Knuckles' surprise appearance had very suddenly stopped him from shooting, but it wasn't so bad, the disgruntled echidna ended up creating a huge dent on the robot's torso causing it to fall on its back... and the next thing he knew the robot's entire upper body was consumed by a green pillar of light. "Izzy!"

_Sonic the Hedgehog - Emerald story, Chapter One, Epilogue..._

Mobius was a beautiful planet... even its most desolate places boasted beauty, and the thrill of the unknown was often sought for as a constant source of adrenaline.

So being in one of the very few caves that was yet to be set foot on by man would be more than enough to overwhelm any normal person. But if you're a hedgehog that's ran around the world hundreds upon hundreds of times in a nearly countless amount of ways, then it'd obviously be nothing new...

"Damnit Eggman, I'm dying of boredom here!" A blue hedgehog wailed at the futuristic intercom, nibbling on some crackers he'd kept for the trip. He was seated on the edge of a large rock, and looked to be in an insurmountably deep and unexplored cave. His only source of light were two magnificent looking stones that sparkled with a bright, luminous energy. "Haven't you pin-pointed the location of the third emerald yet?"

"Patience, you furry little pain in the bottom!" A baritone voice erupted from the intercom, the small monitor catching static. "Being suspended in space isn't helping my chaos radar spot the emerald in one of the deepest caves of the world, so you're just going to have to keep still and wait Sonic!"

"I've been sitting here for nearly an hour!" Sonic yelled, shaking his fist at the face of the evil doctor in the screen of the intercom. "You keep telling me to hurry up when you're the one causing all the idle time! I don't need the chaos emeralds to stop you, Eggman, so why don't you just--"

"A-a-a! Quite the contrary, I'm afraid. You are going to need every single one of those emeralds if you're even going to stand a hair line's chance of seeing your friends alive and well!" Eggman smirked, showing off a small console with a very shiny egg-shaped button. "And just remember what will happen if you even try to disobey me!"

Sonic's face went red for a good while, but remembering the very lethal situation that all of his friends were in, his mood dropped to a much more reasonable one. "Yeah, yeah."

"Very good, hedgehog." Eggman laughed his evil laugh, and pressed a few buttons on the console of his main computer. "Ah, here it is. The third emerald."

o-----

Author's notes - All right, what do you guys think? I've left a lot of questions unanswered, but some of them I kept secret on purpose, to keep the story and any kind of emotion felt by the reader going in the right direction :). Also, I apologize if Sonic isn't in here much, he plays a veeery important role that comes out later in the story. In the next chapter however, more of Izzy's 'sickness' is learned, and a shocking past is revealed. Oh, and to anyone who recognizes and likes Ash the mongoose--he's pretty insignificant here but he could probably even play a pivotal role, who knows :P. As for what happened to the mongoose lovers and everybody else after the disaster in Knothole, it'll be in the next chappie.

P.S. - Be sure to throw a review my way when you have the time... I don't bite :).


	2. Chapter 2

"Your highness, we've just recieved word from Knothole."

"Oh dear, yes... what's their status?"

"Three residential homes and the local clinic suffered severe damage from the incident. But fortunately, injuries were kept to a bare minimum and no casualties were reported. Many had volunteered to offer the victims shelter as well, and we have dismissed repairs on the town for tomorrow."

The aged king sighed in relief, having been paralyzed in shock just a few hours back. It had taken them all completely by surprise, and consequently, he was not able to send any kind of protection to the people of Knothole... though he knew full well that the freedom fighters could handle it and they did, it still wasn't very kingly of him to be aware of such an attack from the nefarious doctor Eggman only when it was already over. "Very well... carry on."

"Yes, your highness." The very large and intimidating chipmunk bowed, deciding not to tell him about the angry red echidna who constantly complained about added protection for jinxed kids and left the royal chamber.

"Don't worry Max, everything turned out ok." The queen whispered, placing a caring hand on his shoulders when his grim expression didn't leave with the bodyguard.

"I know, Alicia... it's just, I should have seen it coming." The king shook his head, and the queen pushed her thumbs against the lower sides of his neck in a simple yet meaningful massage. "I'm sorry, dear."

"Now now, I'm sure no one blames you for what happened... if we really must point fingers then it would undoubtedly be on that dreadful doctor."

"Yes... you're right. As always." Max smiled for the first time that day. "Robotnik would be six feet under by now, had our places been switched... and I wouldn't blame him. I'd dig a hole and jump in myself if I knew that the calm and calculated queen Alicia was my enemy."

"Ha, ha, ha. Oh, by the way, Sally went to Knothole a few minutes ago, in case you're wondering."

"She must be tired... having to govern the kingdom of acorn alone whenever we went on leave, and we'd only recently returned from our second one, after all."

"That's true... she needs some rest."

o-----

Twilight had spread across the village, and just about everyone was spending the last few hours of the day indoors--even those who had lost their homes. If there was one thing that the battle hardened people of Knothole had to brag about, it was an uncanny sense of hospitality for their fellow neighbors. It was a well known fact that no matter how desperate things in Knothole got, everyone still had the pleasure of looking forward to a good night's rest. Could it perhaps work its magic on an echidna that had nightmares nearly every night?

"U-ungh...!" A cold sweat dropped from Izzy's forehead, his body twitching and shuddering violently. Almost as if on cue, a towel doused in warm water was placed on his forehead, a slender hand carefully wiping the sweat from his brow.

"Calm down honey, just calm down... I'm with ya..." Bunnie whispered as softly as she could, hoping to whatever God was up there that he could hear her. It plain terrified the yellow rabbit to see the pain etched in his face. "please..."

"No... gah... help..." There was already a thin layer of moisture on Izzy's body, as the nightmare seemed to get worse. "dead... they're all... dead..."

Bunnie couldn't take it anymore. Choking back tears, the rabbit lifted his upper body from the bed and securely placed both her arms around him, desperately attempting to protect Izzy from what she could not see. "Please... just be safe, please...!"

In what could only be described as miraculous, Izzy's spasms actually did slow to a stop.

Silence hailed for that curious moment as Bunnie subconsciously held her breath, wondering what had happened. Before she knew it, two shaky hands lifted up and to her utter surprise--went around her waist and returned the hug in the earnest.

_Sonic the Hedgehog - Emerald story, Chapter 2; 'Angel Island'. "Pain pays the income for every precious thing."_

She really didn't know how long they stayed like that but... it didn't matter. Never in he life had felt so comfortable, so right. And finally hearing the disturbed echidna sigh in what she assumed was one of relaxation, made her heart scream in complete happiness. For what felt like an eternity Bunnie had forgotten about everything, all her pains and tears... the whole world was gone, it all accumulated to her and Izzy, extracting comfort from one another.

And then there was Tails... everything else followed right after.

"Ah, so he's awake..." The light brown fox was confused at first to see them in that awkward position, but the kind look never left his face. "are you both okay?"

"I'm fine Tails..." Bunnie answered, her non-cybernetic arm gently pressing against the echidna's back in a circular motion. It was then that she noticed how soft his furred skin felt. "heya... feeling better now?"

Izzy slowly opened his eyes as they reluctantly let go, revealing irises of an incredible emerald green hue. It glew for a little while but soon reverted back to its silver state. He felt the hair on his back stand and for some totally unmentionable reason, he couldn't stop looking at her. 'Beautiful...'

"Uhm... Izzy?"

"Huh?" The green echidna blinked a few times and--realizing that he was staring, immediately looked the other way, a small blush forming on his cheeks. "Y-yes, I'm okay..."

An unreadable emotion flashed through Bunnie's eyes before she started giggling. "I swear, you are the cutest thing I've ever seen."

The echidna remained quiet but had what looked to be an embarrassed pout on his reddish face.

Bunnie fought the urge to squeal and pinch Izzy's cheeks as Tails just looked on in bewildered amazement. "Have you two known each other long...?"

"Nah... we met this mornin'."

"Oh." Tails hung his head, his small mouth curving down slightly. How high did a fox's intelligence quotient have to be to understand things like this? "I've got some info about your sickness, mister Izzy... I managed to take some samples after Knuckles got me out of the rubble when that robot destroyed my home."

"Really?" Izzy asked, all of his attention now centered at the fox that seemed to look just as old as Walt. "But... how? If your home was levelled, then your laboratory must have been, too..."

"My lab was in the basement, so when my house fell, I was pretty much safe since I was studying something at the time--but even if my lab remained operational, it wouldn't have helped much." Tails smiled sheepishly and continued. "So instead I took the tornado, flew over to Central City and used miss Rouge's pass to gain access to the central lab again... the results I found were pretty disturbing."

"Disturbing as in... bad?" Bunnie asked, worried about Izzy's current condition.

"I don't know, actually... you see when I put the dense vapor in the test tubes, it didn't explain anything... pictures just started fluctuating in the screen. Pictures of Angel Island. And then the computer broke again." Tails sighed. "I really hope you're not another ancient weapon of destruction that Eggman is after, Izzy..."

"Errr... I hope not." Izzy scratched the back of his head and chuckled a little. "But I doubt it... I was raised like a normal kid, more or less."

"Oh... do you have a family?" Tails asked, more than a little curious as to what answer he was going to give. Nearly a year before, he thought Knuckles was the last of his kind... but then Julie-su came, and then a whole bunch of them along with the ancient city of Echidnapolis... Tikal didn't count because she had already passed away. He had to admit though, Izzy looked different.

"Used to." Izzy's shoulders slumped at his answer, causing concerned glances from both Tails and Bunnie. "It has nothing to do with echidnas though... anyways, what's angel isla--wait... it wouldn't happen to be floating, would it...?"

"Yeah! How'd you know?" Tails asked, deciding not to bring up the family subject with the green echidna until they've been acquainted a little more. 'He seems pretty defensive about it...'

"My dreams sometimes show me a floating island... actually it feels a lot more like I'm falling off of it. Does it mean anything?"

"Well what do you know... talk about super coincidence." Tails' smile grew wider, ready to explain. "Knuckles may know something about the markings on your chest, but he was still going to check up on the history books that he acquired from Echidnapolis. Before he left though, he told me to bring you to that very island when you come to... so how about it? Feeling well enough to take a trip to the sky?"

"When can we leave?" Izzy nearly yelled in excitement. How many years has he spent trying in vain to convince himself that his past wasn't important? Now he was finally going to know about his biological parents, or relatives... he might even be able to meet them. And his sickness, perhaps it has a purpose after all. 'Purpose... that sounds so foreign to me.'

"Now, actually... flying at night's always a treat."

Izzy felt his heart racing. They could go right now! "I don't really need to pack since all I brought looks to be in order here and... where's Walt?"

"No need to worry about him honey, Mina and Amy's been taking care of him while you were asleep and I'll make sure he has a clean little place to go home to." Bunnie smiled, a little bothered that he'd have to leave so quickly but understanding, anyway... and they'd gotten off on such a good start too.

"Huh?" Izzy looked at her, and she almost missed the spark of innocence in his eyes. "You're not coming?"

"I uhm... I'm sorry, Izzy, but I can't..." Bunnie tried her best to smile, but now she really wanted to go. "The tornado's a two person plane."

"Ah... all right." Izzy whispered, unable to hide his disappointment. There was just something about her that made him feel attached in a way...

"Sorry about that... but maybe I'll tinker around with the propulsion systems and make it a three person plane next time, is that ok?" Tails was already at the door.

"Is everything ready? Just give me the word and I'll prep the tornado for immediate launch."

"Yeah, everything's ready... we can go anytime."

"Good! I'll see you in my garage then."

The door made a creaking sound, and then a dull metallic thud told them that it was closed. For a while the two sat in awkward silence, their thoughts the only thing trying to keep them from feeling wierd. Bunnie was thinking about the trip, and what would happen. Izzy was pretty much thinking the same thing. And, that was probably why it wasn't working.

"So... ya really don't know much about yourself?" Bunnie muttered, breaking the ice that was starting to form.

"Well, heheh, not really." Izzy replied, feeling a little less jumpy. "I know everything about myself growing up, I just don't know how, why or where I was born. It's really been bothering me, but at least now I get to know."

"Yep, I think ya deserve that in the very least. But you'll be staying here at least a week after you get back, right?" The rabbit asked, unaware that she was already getting anxious. Izzy's gentle smile returned, accompanied by a nod. "Maybe we can do something about your nightmares."

"I'd really like that. For now though..." Izzy brought his arms up, embarrassment written all over his face. "one for the road?"

Bunnie immediately realized what he meant and with a quick motion gave him a longer, more heartfelt hug.

The echidna didn't understand how this helped him, but her first hug woke him from his nightmare so fast and gently that it was astonishing. Besides, he was starting to enjoy it. Holding her a little tighter in the final few seconds, Izzy let go; his eyes showing genuine peace and security. "Thanks, I needed that."

"To tell you the truth... I did too." Bunnie smiled, feeling just as thankful as he was. For the first time she was feeling something she had never truly felt before--and with a stranger of all people! Even with Antoine D'Coolette, her relationship; though healthy, felt empty and insecure... she watched as the green, attractive echidna stood and stretched, then offered her a hand. Bunnie smirked and stood by herself earning a small grin from Izzy. "Come on... I'll show you where Tails' house is."

A high-pitched sneeze came from the two-tailed fox's snout as he blew the dust away from a copy of the world map he managed to salvage. Angel Island had passed by Knothole a week ago, so through a well thought-out equation that took him about fifteen seconds, he concluded that the island--if Knuckles hadn't used the master emerald to move anywhere other than its default course, would undoubtedly be far enough from the equator. Not that he was complaining, since the weather wasn't exactly cool there. "Hmm... if this was... yeah... subtract a few degrees... longhitude should be approximately... all right!"

"Are we ready to go?"

"GAH!" Tails yelled in horror, taken by complete surprise. Clutching his furry chest, he turned an angry pout to Izzy and Bunnie, who was trying to hold in her laughter. "Heeey, that was mean."

"Don't look so bummed out hon, it's not his fault... sometimes, you don't see him walking, but he is." Bunnie reassured, and Izzy nodded to reinforce the statement.

"It's like our eyes play tricks on us."

"Really?" Tails' anger was replaced by fascination. "But how can that be? That isn't possible, at least, I think it isn't..."

"I honestly don't know... My walking speed is average at best. But so many people have been surprised that I'm starting to think it isn't coincidence." Izzy shrugged, looking at Bunnie. "But you saw me walking towards him, right?"

"Yep, freaky huh?"

"Hmmm... It could have something to do with our peripheral vision that reacts to the energy flowing inside you, but that's unheard of... we'll probably learn more from that when we get to Knuckles." Tails took a small black remote from his newly made desk and pressed a button. "Speaking of Knuckles, let's hit the sky!"

Miles' garage doors opened to reveal a high-maintenance jet plane, with all the works that any plane obsessed fox could possibly put on. Or at least anything a book obsessed echidna could think of. With a shapely form and a gorgeous paint job that had the word 'Tornado Four' on both sides, one would never in a million years suspect that it was all done by a young, highly intelligent fox. "Whoa... this is one awesome aero dynamic machine. I'm not much for heavy technology, but the way it looks seem to fit the two seats so well."

"You're more observant than you let on... yep, this plane was really just made for two passengers, since the weight is distributed perfectly." Tails flew over to the front seat and started the engines, the plane humming to a relaxed start. "Hop on."

"Ok then, let's get this over with." Izzy climbed up to the back seat using the steel steps that were made just for that very purpose. "How far away is Angel Island?"

"Five hundred miles south east... it should take us about forty to fifty minutes to reach."

"Have a safe trip boys, and say hi to Knuckles for me." Bunnie waved at Tails, and snuck a wink over to Izzy, who smiled gingerly back. "Don't worry about Walt again, by the way."

"Will do, Bunnie. Tell Sonic to visit Angel Island in case he gets here before we do!" Tails had to raise his voice as the plane's rumbling was getting too loud. The rabbit confirmed with a two-finger salute, and used her cybernetic leg jets to hover away from the Tornado's improvised runway. Tails slowly pushed the lever forward as it started to gain more speed, and then pulled the steering stick with considerable force--in mere seconds they'd already flown straight out of Knothole.

"Bunnie!" A pink hedgehog came running towards the rabbit in question at an insane speed, and stopped right in front of her just as quickly. "Was that the Tornado? Did Sonic run off with Tails again?"

"Naw, Sonic hasn't returned yet Amy. Tails just brought Izzy to see Knuckles on Angel Island."

"Izzy who?--Oooh, the green echidna that did a number on that huge robot earlier!" Amy sighed, a concerned frown on her face. "I wish Sonic would just come home already... I hope he hasn't gone off on another one of his adventures again."

"Don't worry about that sis. Sonic ain't the type to break promises."

In the other side of the world, a blue hedgehog who appeared to be in a very, very delicate situation concerning a chaos emerald, a frantic nail-biting Eggman and a bottomless pit, sneezed. "Uh-oh, not good--whoooaaaaaa!..."

"Yeah, you're right... maybe I should make Sonic seal our inevitable marriage with an old fashioned pinky promise, just to be sure! I swear, sometimes that hedgehog is too stubborn for his own good."

Bunnie simply rolled her eyes in faint amusement. Maybe being stubborn was a species thing...

Thirty minutes just seemed to fly by, and Tails was already navigating through the sea, having passed above the forests and the thinning coastline. "Doing good back there?"

Izzy was caught in a trance. Nightfall had already replaced the bleak darkness of twilight with an unbelievable amount of sheer unprecedented beauty. He could see the moon straight through the cloudless sky, letting loose its silver rain upon the world. He could see the stars, plentiful and bright; like a spectacular parade filled with attractive awe-inspiring lights. And if that wasn't enough, the reflection below mimicked everything beautiful from above! It was all just, breathtaking... magical. A space between two skies.

Tails shifted his position to look behind, and let out a small chuckle. "Don't worry Izzy, you'll get used to it."

Izzy continued to stare upwards. Never in his whole life had he seen such majesty, and never in his life did he not want to feel the same way as he first saw it. "Maybe... but I don't think I want to."

"Hmmm... Izzy, you write?"

"Yeah, how did you guess?"

"It shows." Tails smiled and went back to looking onwards. "Hey... what's that?"

"What?" Izzy squinted his view and saw a small dot, straight ahead. "It looks like... what the... what's with all the waterfalls, is that Angel Island?"

"Huh? Waterfalls?" Tails rummaged around his seat and removed a small telescope, using it to view the dot a little clearer. "Ah, waterfalls... that's Angel Island all right."

"Oh, I see."

"Hold on--how'd you spot the waterfalls without using some kind of scope?" Tails looked behind again to see Izzy shrugging. "I mean, that thing is just a dot from here!"

"No idea..."

"Those are some really good eyes you've got!"

"Errr... thank you."

"Would you mind if I plucked them out and ran some tests when we get back?" Tails noted the expression of pure horror on Izzy's face and started laughing uncontrollably. "I was just kidding, silly!"

The echidna gave him a wierd look.

"Hey, you didn't actually think I was gonna do that, did you?"

"Hmmm...you 'do' look kinda suspicious, in a mad scientist way."

"Huh?" Tails' face distorted to a sad, insecure look. "I do?..."

Izzy sighed, a sudden fatherly instinct taking him over. Miles reminded him of Walt in so many ways... it just seemed to have an odd effect on him. "Heheh, I never could resist that kind of look... just kidding. Silly."

"Okay..."

"No Tails, really."

Tails' frown ceased to exist and an easy, friendlier feeling fell upon them as they neared the mystical floating island. It wouldn't be long now.

Meanwhile, straight across the two within Angel Island, the red echidna known as Knuckles placed an ancient looking book on his make shift bed and took a deep breath. He could feel it. A haunting kind of aura, uncannily resembling that of the master emerald's. They were coming.

"Hey... are you all right?" A soft voice came from behind him.

"Yeah, Julie. I'm fine." Knuckles replied, turning to see a purple haired pink furred echidna with small parts of her body replaced by cybernetics. "I just don't think that what the book was saying could even be possible... not in this case anyway."

"The emerald's capable of ripping time and space... it may be wierd, but that's the only logical explanation for Izzy's condition. That was his name, right?"

"Yeah... I guess."

"Knuckles, what's bothering you?" Julie-su took a few steps closer, her eyes darting around his body for any bruises or wounds. "Are you all right...?"

The red echidna nodded, albeit a little unenthusiastically, closing his eyes meditatively. After a deep breath, he opened it to see Julie-su staring straight back at him, a disapproving expression on her face. "Can't you for once, be wrong about something?"

"Hey Knux, come'ere."

Knuckles arched a furred eyebrow at the strange tone of his best friend, but obeyed anyway. "What's wrong?"

His curiosity was instantly killed on the spot when Julie-su leaned forward, her lips meeting his. The kiss finished in less than a second, but that didn't stop Knuckles' eyes from growing wide as saucers.

"That should keep your mind off of things for a while." Julie-su giggled in tightly controlled nervousness as Knuckles numbly touched his lips. The two considered each other as best friends but their relationship had in fact gone much deeper, and the odd thing was they didn't even mind it. 'Our first kiss... gutsy move there, Julie girl.'

Knuckles snapped out of it, but there was still a sense of bewilderment--he had to agree that whatever he was worrying about seemed to be erased from his mind. He was about to say something when the whistling of a plane engine started making itself too obvious not to hear. It was then that Knuckles realized what had actually happened and a huge blush made him red all over; as if he wasn't red enough. "Did... did you just..."

"I... I guess I did." Julie-su answered, also realizing her affectionate deed just then. She soon started glowing red too. "Uhm... I... hey, is that Tails' plane I hear?"

"Y-yeah." Knuckles subconsciously thanked the pink echidna for the well-timed excuse, but was a little disappointed all the same. "Let's go greet'em."

"Now Tails, I have all the faith in you being able to land the tornado safely... just one question though." Izzy held onto his seatbelt for dear life. "Why does it look like we're going to nose dive onto the ground?"

"Don't worry, I've tested this kind of landing out before, I just wanted to see if it would work the second time." Was the reply of the two-tailed fox, trying to ignore Izzy's baffled look that suddenly materialized in his mind. Snapping open a safety lock, he flicked the little switches inside, pressed a yellow button and pushed a lever down in record speed. The Tornado's thrusters then began to invert itself, and their descent soon slowed down. Pressing another set of buttons that Izzy didn't quite understand and didn't really bother to memorize, the plane's nose folded into a much flatter surface, and another strong looking object came out from underneath it. As the Tornado finally went to a stop, they were hanging vertically from an otherwise, stable position. Tails beamed with pride, looking back at the green echidna. "This allows the plane to land in surfaces that have no runways... I actually originally planned it flat on it's belly about a month ago, but the wings of the Tornado would hit the ground because of its x shape in fly mode; so I made it like this!"

"Cool... so how do I get down?"

Miles snapped off his seatbelt and used his two tails to fly over to Izzy, bringing him very safely down on floating ground. "See? Got it all covered."

"Heheh, it actually makes sense since you're the only one that knows how to fly this thing... your IQ definitely lives up to its reputation."

"Thanks!"

Izzy chuckled. "But what if the passenger is too heavy for you to carry?"

"H-huh? I... I..." Tails' eyes widened; immediately entering a crazy calculating stupor. How could he have missed that? "errr... how... uhm... what if... no..."

"Hey now, it was a joke! Nothing to get riled up about... you okay? Hey!" Izzy tried to explain, but it was no use. For something as sweet as the art of flawless, a true perfectionist still saw it as a potential problem, joke or no. But Izzy doubted that Tails was even listening to him, anyway.

"Oi." A deep voice echoed throughout the small gathering of trees, startling Izzy. It was as if the island itself called his attention.

Looking around, he spotted two dark figures walking towards him; the night's shadowed beauty aiding their subtle appearances. Having decided that he had no idea on what exactly to do, he looked back at Tails who seemed to be playing some test-run scenarios over and over in his overly used head. Sensing no hostility from either Tails or the strangers, Izzy shrugged it off and went over to meet the two figures, who'd already stopped a few feet away. He could see them perfectly now. "Uhm, hello. Knuckles, and..."

"Hey there! My name's Julie-su; but you don't really need to say the su part." Julie-su smiled, then quickly glanced at her red companion. "Hey Knux, he's kinda cute."

"Huh?" Knuckles stared at the pink echidna in hurt confusion.

"You're too gullible, sweets... he's still cute though, kinda like a girl."

"...whatever." Shaking his head and not even wanting to think about being jealous, Knuckles lifted a gloved hand, offering the traditional shake to the green echidna. "Welcome."

"Thanks."

Izzy leaned forward, gratefully taking the polite gesture, and Knuckles' eyes widened for a split second. He could feel it; that same surge he felt when his fingertips touched the master emerald... he could sense its raw, undivided power in the strange echidna--yet felt that it was barred from leaving his body. Could the book really be referring to this? It certainly didn't leave any questions unanswered...

"I've got it!" Tails yelled all of a sudden, surprising Julie-su especially. "Next time, it'll be perfe--oh, you guys are already here!"

"Uh, yeah, we've been here for a while already." Julie-su wondered how it was possible not to have noticed a hand waving in front of your face for ten seconds. "Be a little more aware next time, 'kay? Never know when an evil gerbil might come bite you. I mean, rabies really stinks."

Tails shuddered at the thought. Rabies was a bad, bad, baaad disease. It almost ruled out the generic fiction and of evil gerbils. "Not a good joke, nu-uh."

"Heheh, it could happen." The pink echidna returned her gaze to the older boys, who seemed to be already engrossed in conversation.

"So let me get this straight. You know my origins, but you have to be sure by 'fighting' me first?" Izzy asked, genuinely surprised. But something inside expected that... in a way. It could be natural instinct; he was an echidna after all.

"Yes." Knuckles nodded, being very frank about it. "I'm sorry, but it is probably the only way I can know for sure. If it makes you feel better, then perhaps I can explain the markings on your chest on our way."

"Hrm."

"Knuckles, are you sure this is a good idea?" Tails asked, getting more and more worried by the second. Knuckles was incredibly strong... he wasn't that slow either. Sonic could beat him in a one on one fight, but that was still an if. Sonic may be faster and a little more clever, but Knuckles was a genius when it came to fighting. It was too bad that his anger ruined his focus at times, but that couldn't be helped either. Anger was connected to pride, and pride was connected to confidence, and confidence unfortunately, 'was' focus.

Izzy, on the other hand... he didn't really know. But Tails assumed that he knew what he was getting into. He has yet to see an echidna that wasn't good at fighting, anyway.

Julie-su was dead quiet. What was this all about? Knuckles didn't--

"Come on, let's go." The red echidna motioned, pointing towards the master emerald's former altar that could be seen towering in the east. "You'll fall behind."

"Y-yeah." Julie-su nodded, running towards her confusing friend and the others.

"So, are you going to explain to me what these white markings on my chest are for yet?" Izzy asked, a little concerned about agreeing to this confrontation. Fighting was not something he did everyday; not even occasionally, much less be challenged to one. But he wasn't totally against it, nearly seventy five percent of the books he'd read had fight scenes, and nearly all of them have exhilirated him in one way or another... in fact, confronting an opponent in a physical show of skill and power came so naturally to him that he couldn't help but instinctively exercise during his free time. It was also one of the reasons why he enjoyed teaching Walt. "And if it isn't too much trouble, can you please tell me the reason why I look so different compared to you two?"

"Honestly, I don't know. It could be something out of birth... not really my style to question logic, but I don't question the unexplainable either." Knuckles replied, absent-mindedly staring at the spiked, white gloves that covered his hands as they neared the master emerald's altar. He hoped that the echidna was at least strong enough to handle one punch; being proven wrong with a serious injury was not something anyone should take for granted... but there was no other way. Knuckles needed to throw it as hard as he possibly could so that he knew immediately if the unusual looking Izzy could take it. And if he couldn't well, at least the fight didn't have to drag on and ultimately lead to the crippling of his green furred kin--something he probably wouldn't be able to endure being guilty of. "As for the marks, it represents your tribe--it's a lot like a country's emblem, or national flag."

"Ah... I guess it's a little bit like I imagined it was." Izzy said with a kind, faint smile, unknowingly forcing Knuckles to have second thoughts on what he had planned to do. As far as the fight was concerned, Izzy wasn't really expecting a surprise attack or anything, but the pit of his stomach was telling him otherwise. Not that it burdened him, an extra sheet of caution never hurt anyway... and it felt quite natural for him to assume so. But at least from the look on his face, the red echidna's mood didn't seem like it held any degree of contempt. "So what clan am I part of?"

"Not sure, but if those markings are what I think they are, then you come from a very very old family--ancient even... not that it's possible, but like I said, I keep my mind open to unreal things too."

"I see." Izzy nodded, satisfied for now. After what seemed like an eternity, the four were finally climbing the last set of marble steps before reaching the altar, when the green echidna felt an uncomfortable hue emanating from Knuckles as he gestured for Julie-su and Tails to stay behind. Truth be told the former didn't take it very well and let out a worried pout as they reached the top, almost making Izzy blush as his gaze happened upon her vividly expressive face. She was drop-dead attractive, that much was certain. But it was not a sight he was able to enjoy for long as he felt his right side begin to tense, pulling him back to reality and the complicated matter at hand. He was used to following his gut instincts, but the unreal strength that the feeling gave off disturbed him... he'd never felt so warned in his life. That and the harmless demeanor Knuckles appeared to show gave him conflicting emotions, pretty much leaving him vulnerable and unable to concentrate.

He never had a chance to see the sudden wave of red that splashed onto his face, the guttural connection releasing an echo that scattered throughout the night sky.

"What was that?" Tails looked towards the direction of the sound, but the final set of steps paired with the overwhelming height of the tower obstructed his view. Readying himself to fly, Miles was about to jump when a gentle hand that clutched his put the fox's plan to an abrupt halt, and the look on Julie-su's eyes removed whatever worry was plaguing him. He trusted Knuckles... and whatever it was they were doing up there was necessary... he hoped. "Oh boy..."

A grunt of pain escaped Izzy's lips as he fell awkwardly to the floor, his body skidding on the ground like a rag doll before finally stopping on his stomach. For a good three seconds the initial shock was fresh, and his right cheek was an entire mess of feeling. He had no idea what'd just happened, but when his surprise died down--and the pain cranked up--his only guess was that his new 'friend's' elbow was given a crash course with his face... it made Izzy shudder to think of what his condition might be had it been Knuckles' spiked glove. But he didn't have time to explore the thought further as the dreaded sound of heavy footsteps was nearing its destination, and a dose of fear shot through his spine; right before it was replaced by controlled fury.

Yes... this was the feeling. When his elbow gave Izzy that staggering blow (he'd have to apologize later), it felt exactly like he had hit the master emerald. Now, the only question that needed to be answered was if the green echidna was capable of demonstrating the emerald's power. Oh, right. He needed to punch him hard too. 'Damnit... I hope this doesn't kill you Izzy...'

The crumpled echidna's eyes widened as he caught sight of the blurred shoe in his peripheral vision; Knuckles was going to kick his stomach! And what's worse was that he could do absolutely nothing about it, having spent too much time thinking about how the heck he managed to get into this mess. Without a doubt, this one was going to hurt a lot. But there was at least one defensive measure he could apply... and that was to exhale as much as he could. Given the current situation, hissing out a breath was a good way to reduce the pain and more importantly, it killed the chance of getting the wind knocked out of him. It was sooner than he expected when the thunderous kick landed, sending a very sharp pain that was dulled by the fact that no air was in Izzy's lungs at the time--a thoughtful tactic that didn't go by unnoticed by his attacker. Nevertheless, the massive strength behind Knuckles' leg sent him two feet off the ground and nearly six feet away from where he'd lain.

A tiny, proud smile curled upon the red echidna's pursed lips as he delivered the kick, noticing Izzy's intriguing knowledge of a physical bout... that or he was just really lucky. Either way, he got through with only half of the intended damage. What surprised Knuckles the most though, was that his opponent managed to land on his knees, even having the strength to push himself up right after... but he was hurting. Try as the strange echidna might to hide it, Knuckles still expertly noted his rattled condition. "Hm. Not bad."

Izzy's only reply was a deep, calming breath that fueled his focus, his mind now prepared to deliver and recieve punishment. Getting the picture, Knuckles couldn't help but smile even wider as he stepped into a fighting stance himself, his bent figure a little more inclined to aggresive attacks than a well-distributed defense. Izzy, also quite observant in nature, found this to be an ideal stance because of their distance... it also meant that Knuckles would most likely go for another offensive break. Once again, not many counter-defense options, if there were any at all. 'He's way too strong... if I don't turn this fight around and quick, I'm not going to last five minutes into this thing... use your head Izzy, think! Wait...'

"Eh?" Knuckles almost questioned himself out loud at the green echidna's suicidal decision of leaping towards him, positioning his left fist as if he was readying to give a strengthened hook. He certainly wasn't expecting Izzy to be so aggresive after the tremendous kick he gave, but in a way he was impressed by it. He had a lot of guts to try coming back strong after taking such a hard shot... it was almost like he was reading Knuckles' mind. Having obtained a heightened respect for Izzy, Knuckles decided to take the attack head on and deliver an unpredictable strategy himself. "Show me what you've got!"

Izzy on the other hand felt awkward and nervous when he saw Knuckles prepare to deliver one of those infamous earth-shattering punches that he'd read so much about. The best scenario would probably be a collision of both their fists, and the best outcome would be Izzy breaking his wrist, if not every bone in his left hand. Whilst the worst scenario, well... he didn't want to think about it, but if he were to guess, he still wouldn't be able to because it'd most likely be censored for vulgar content. Being completely negative about it wasn't going to help though; he had already passed the point of no return. 'Focus! Make this the strongest punch you've ever had to throw... concentrate...' "Hyaaa!"

"Going through with it eh? How's this!" Knuckles yelled, right before he pressed on his heels at the last second, side-stepping to his right with alarming speed. All along he had planned to snatch Izzy's arm as it passed through, and then use the force that he applied from the missed punch to tackle him down to the ground. From there Knuckles would be able mount him and deliver a punch that held all of his strength... then and only then, would he know for sure if Izzy could handle it.

He took no notice the green, vaporous aura that was escaping the aggresor's fist as he moved out of the way...

'W-what the--oh no!' Izzy tried to stop the punch, but he'd put so much strength and mind-power on it that his arm refused to go any other way but straight. Consequently, Knuckles was able to dodge his fist without any trouble and, for a dull split-second, looked as though the fight had just reached its climactic ending for Izzy... but that was when it happened.

Knuckles, completely ignoring the green substance that Izzy's fist left trailing behind it, was taken aback by the sudden burning sensation his eyes felt when it came in contact with the vapor. In no time at all the pain grew close to unbearable, and Knuckles had no choice but to abort his plans and put all of his present attention on the startling dillema. With his hands covering his face, Izzy was just as surprised to see him suddenly put his guard down like that. 'My eyes, what the--what on Mobius just happened?'

But Izzy was a very sharp thinker... and before Knuckles even knew his opponent was beginning a new attack, Izzy quickly shifted as much force as he could on his fist, causing his arm to make a wild swing and in effect jerked his entire body along with it in a three hundred and sixty degree turn. Without stopping, the green echidna drove his left knee into Knuckles' ribs with all of his might, causing a colission of flesh and bone so great that the ground and the air around them vibrated with the sickening thud. And to top it all off the peace-loving birds that felt the shockwave began flapping away as fast as they could, delivering an effect that had both Tails and Julie-Su holding their breaths in worry.

"Tails, I... maybe you should go check..."

"A-are you kidding? I'm getting too old for this..."

_Sonic the Hedgehog - Emerald story, Chapter Two, Epilogue..._

"NO, I do NOT want to talk about it. Stop pestering me!" Sonic snarled in the intercom, wanting very much to kill himself just so he could fly over to where his nemesis was and beat the living egg out of him... literally. It really bothered him, how he could see this entire situation slowly becoming helpless, and that soon he'd really have to confess something he would never share with anyone, ever... to 'Eggman' of all people. It was leaving a horrendously bad taste in his mouth and he just knew that Eggman was aware of that... since why the hell would he bug him about his love life if he didn't?

"Oh, but I insist!" Came the evil, cocky voice that Sonic hated so much; that annoying, unnerving voice that seemed like it would rip through his existence if he gave it the chance. It was ironic though, how much he enjoyed hearing that voice whenever the doctor was screaming obscenities after getting his fat butt beaten by the fastest thing alive for the umpteenth time. In fact, how many times he was beaten didn't even matter to Sonic anymore, he lost count a long time ago. "What's the matter hedgehog? You don't have any interest in girls? Don't tell me the grass is greener on the other side--"

"Shut up!"

"Oho! Struck a nerve, have I?" Eggman could hear the blue hedgehog growl from his communicator, and oh was he enjoying himself. He always did like torturing people in awkward moments. Especially when he was holding all the cards. In fact it was a lot less than what he could say about Sonic's 'little' problem. He had the lives of his friends in his greedy hands... and with the simple, push of a button, that'd be all she wrote for the freedom fighters. But not yet. He wanted to relish every single moment before finally destroying his life in one fell swoop. "Hahaha, well you know me Sonic, once I strike a nerve, I start plucking!"

"Damnit Eggman! I got the third emerald! Now would you just leave me alone for five seconds?" The blue hedgehog shook slightly as he applied a hydrogenated medicinal liquid on his right arm, which right now sported a long tender cut just below his shoulder. It was bad enough that the edge he had fallen off earlier caused this, but Eggman wasn't helping at all... heck, since when was there an instance in which that round piece of grease helped anyway? "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Yes. That's the beauty of it!" Eggman's voice cackled through the intercom, proceeding to rack Sonic's brain with its alternate high-pitch and low-pitch sounds.

The hedgehog's furry eyebrow twitched. "Well then, if you're not interested in any of them, then you wouldn't mind if I did them in right now, would you?"

"W-what?"

"I'm afraid our little conversation can have some pretty heavy consequences... consequences of which, I don't think you can handle. But maybe I'm underestimating you... all right then! Who do you want to go first? Ah, perhaps Princess Sally Acorn? From what my scanners have picked up in the past few months, it appears that you two have cut off due to relationship troubles, so why not?" His sattelite monitor showed Sonic pale very visibly, and he mentally gave himself a pat on the back. Eggman knew how much they meant to him, but he wanted to know exactly 'who' was it that held his heart.

"Don't... you... dare... you slime ball!" Sonic's eyes glinted green murder, his gloves almost ripping at the extreme pressure that his clenched fists were unknowingly putting on it. Sally was without a doubt, one of the most important things in his life. If anything ever happened to her...

Eggman could feel Sonic's intense hatred pulse and seethe even though he was all the way up in space... this was just too good to be true. "Touchy touchy... fine then, how about contestant number two, the feisty Bunnie Rabbot? Conveniently her bio console's just two steps from where I am so just say the word and I'll happily oblige!"

"Listen up you piece of trash! If you think for even a second that your threats are going to stop me then you're dead wrong, if you keep it up I swear I'm going to destroy these emeralds and--"

"Ah, I see, it's settled then! Amy goes first."

Silence.

'Finally... I've struck oil.' "Is that a yes please?" Eggman's grin threatened to rip his face in half, a dozen hundred diabolic ideas already running through his mind.

He never thought the annoying little girl had that effect on Sonic... he was merely testing the waters. But in a completely off way, they were actually quite compatible for each other; a loud, arrogant pest for an equally irritating one. "Well? Speak up my obnoxious rival of a runt!"

"Don't hurt her." Sonic couldn't bear to look in the intercom. He had no idea that Amy was involved too...

"Eh?"

"I'll do what you want damnit! Just don't hurt her! Are you happy now?"

"Oh my... this definitely doesn't sound like you at all!" The doctor's laugh boomed across space and the cave Sonic was in, and the hedgehog shook in a highly volatile mix of embarrassment, worry, and unbelievable anger. In fact, Eggman would never admit it, but even he himself was a little nervous about his nemesis' change of character. As much as he was in denial, the truth was he had never really won against the blue hedgehog, and there were many occurences in which he cheated death only because of Sonic's goody goody attitude... not that he appreciated it in any way--he hated being pitied, it was partly the reason why he wanted to rule over mobius. Though on a more positive note, he was now aware of Amy being a tad bit above the rest when it came to Sonic's interests... and as important as that information was, part of him was still dying to claw through Sonic's nerves, whilst his more rational side was telling him that pursuing the subject further might only make his oh so perfect plan backfire. And--obviously being very experienced in the art of a failed attempt--he wisely chose the latter. "Hmmm... unfortunately, we'll have to continue this conversation at another time. My chaos scanners have located the fourth emerald somewhere underneath Westopolis--it's too out of range to track precisely, so you're on your own."

"...It doesn't matter. Consider it found." Sonic muttered, tying a knot around his cut using the red handkerchief that Amy had given him for luck a year back. Patched up and ready to get out of this monster of a cave, a small sigh escaped his lips before it was replaced by a low growl, his feet anxious to get back to running again. 'Just you wait Eggman... you're going to get what's coming to ya.'

His determination never leaving him, all Sonic needed was a split second to disappear.

o-----

Author's Notes: And chapter two is done :)! Hope everyone liked it. Chapter three'll completely explain Izzy's past for the moment, and will also focus a little bit more on Bunnie, Walt and the rest of the gang back in Knothole. As for those that were observant enough to wonder about how old everyone is in my fic, this story happens a year after everything... so Sonic is seventeen, Tails is nine, Knuckles is eighteen, and Eggman is sixty one (I don't really think anyone cares about that, but I just wanted to point it out :P). Eggman's hold mysterious hold over Sonic's friends comes to light in the next chapter as well :).

On a side note, Espio, Cream and Rouge fans; stay tuned for appearances... heck I might even throw Shadow in early, if I get enough reviews :).


	3. Chapter 3

"Do my eyes still look irritated?"

"Nope... what happened to you two anyway?"

Knuckles looked confused for a moment, contorting his neck to obediently snap in places Julie-su almost cringed seeing. The thoughtful silence that insued had him spending the next few seconds replaying what had happened during his fight with Izzy, the bruised skin of his abdomen twitching as he remembered the heavy knee that brought him on both of his own. Across him, the pink echidna never let her worried look falter, but she knew Knuckles well enough that asking a question more than once often held opposite results. And fortunately in these past few days, it was helping her win his favor--rather than lose it to that certain annoying bat she was having trouble with recently. "Let's just say I've found what I was looking for... he hits pretty hard though--knocked me down for a good few seconds actually."

"Really? That hard?" Julie-su was aware that being knocked down for a second or two was no big deal; if it was anyone else that got hit. Knuckles was an entirely different story... him being knocked down for a 'few' seconds was absolutely no joke. Julie-su knew full well that when the maroon echidna had his feet firmly planted on stable ground, even Sonic wouldn't be able to muster enough strength to rattle him down to his knees.

"Maybe... he got me by surprise so I wasn't able to properly measure his strength at all." Knuckles shrugged, not one hint of pride showing. Nobody won the match, but he would've preferred himself losing over what had happened. And that green acid thing... Julie-su had let Tails borrow the ancient records of Angel Island in hopes that the fox would be able to come up with an explanation, though Knuckles was convinced that the pain he felt was familiar. Without a doubt, It was the master emerald all right, but it felt so dilluted... so held back. "For now I'll just label him strong until the next time we fight. Oh by the way, have you seen Rouge anywhere?"

"Hm... how should I know." Julie-su crossed her arms, a large amount of irritation catching her off-guard. Of all the times he could've mentioned that stingy flirt's name, why now??? Was she really that attractive that Knuckles couldn't help but think about her every single--no. There she was, being way too critical again. Perhaps there was a less infuriating reason... still, that bat really got on her nerves. 'Calm down girl...' "Probably getting drunk again."

"I hope not... she's gotta get over her depression if she intends to find out who exposed her to the government." Knuckles let out a deep sigh, crossing his arms and letting his eyelids smother his sight in dark, silent meditation. Julie-su for the life of her had no idea why her best friend even cared; Rouge spelled nothing but trouble. For all the pink echidna knew she could be just staying with them in hopes of obtaining the location of the master emerald. In fact it seemed like the perfect plan; the sort of ingenious plot that the bat was all too capable of conjuring. And as if that wasn't proof enough though, Knuckles had a history of being quite gullible, so her theory of Rouge using him was simply too possible to ignore... and the mere thought angered her beyond comprehension.

"I don't know why you let her stay here in the first place..."

"Well, to tell you the truth... I don't know either." The maroon echidna shrugged, opening his eyes to see a confused pair staring back at him. He couldn't blame her too; it sounded pretty vague. "Maybe I just don't like seeing her this way. I'm sorry, I admit that what I'm doing now is stupid, and I'm making myself look like a gullible idiot again; but I think she's helped fix more than whatever damage she's caused... I want to help her Julie."

Julie-su could only shake her head helplessly in reply, finding herself unable to keep angry towards her best friend's genuine kindness. Knuckles was tough, stubborn, hard-headed in a literal sense and maybe even dwelled a little on the tempermental side... but he was a real softie at heart. That was one of the reasons why she was so damn in love with the guy. Speaking of love... she had completely forgotten about the kiss they shared! Julie almost gasped as a sudden wave of red splashed on her cheeks when the thought entered her mind once more. It really wasn't much of a kiss; now that she thought about it, but it was definitely a powerful weapon she could use in case that clever bat tried to take what she'd worked so hard to obtain... or at least, will obtain in the very near future. To be perfectly honest, she didn't know what she cared for the most; Rouge stealing the master emerald, or Rouge stealing Knuckles' affections. "Don't worry about it I... I trust you, Red. No matter what you do or what choice you make I'll be right behind you all the way."

"I know... that's why I'll never let you down," Knuckles smirked, placing a soothing hand on her shoulder. He didn't notice her breath skip at his touch. "ever."

Julie-su simply zoned out in light-headed bliss.

Meanwhile, hidden in a large tree among countless others not too far away from the pair, a shapely white bat who'd overheard their entire conversation was now having a little trouble digesting the red echidna's caring choice of words. Did he really mean that? Did he really want to help her? Because in all honesty, she wouldn't, had their positions been changed. And as good as her ego felt concerning Knuckles' genuine flattery, it made her heart flinch terribly at the risk she was allowing herself to take. For the next minute and a half she continued to remain still; visually content on her brooding, until a small ringing sound that echoed in her left ear snapped her out of the unhealthy reverie. Feeling very much like a cruel old hag, the bat slowly placed an index finger on her left temple as she unenthusiastically took the call. "Yes, Rouge here. I... no, I haven't found the location of the master emerald yet. I know that--look, it's not like you're making my job any easier okay? No no, I'm sorry for exploding like that. Yes, I'd appreciate it if you did. I'll give you a call when I do. Bye for now."

Removing the Interpol standard ear piece she had been given by the government she supposedly is now against, Rouge scrunched her nose in a frown. "Damnit Knuckle-head, you're making this way too difficult..."

_Sonic The Hedgehog - Emerald Story, Chapter 3; 'Manipulative Saint' "For every life spared, the saviour is taxed."_

"_Izzy honey, wake up!" _

Wh-what... what...

His eyes opened without him even knowing. He felt calm enough, yet he could not say a word. It was faint, but somehow he felt startled... he smelled the strong scent of smoke--it was all too familiar. He soon found himself sitting up though he had no control over himself, and to his complete and utter surprise, he laid his eyes upon his mother figure... Walt's mother. "Mama, what's happening?"

Almost as soon as he heard himself say that, his heart throbbed painfully, as if triggered by instinct alone. He hasn't said mama in so long...

"Now's not the time, we need to go honey," The female fox replied as gently as she could, quickly tugging little Izzy's gloved hand, and with a certain grace only a mother could possibly have, began to lead him downstairs... it was then that he realized, that the entire house was almost blanketed in flame. Fear had gripped him then, he remembered that much--it seemed to grip the older Izzy as well. "Colt, where's Walt? We need to go!"

"I have him honey, let's move." A tall male fox came into view now, wearing what looked to be a lab coat and holding an obviously agitated Walt on his arms. By this time the older Izzy could hear the wooden structure begin to give in, the creaking sound giving way to a solid snap. His heart shot up to his throat as he realized what was about to happen. "Let's take the back do--watch out!"

In an instant, Colt was beside them, but as he quickly pushed Sarah and himself out of the way, another piece of the roof fell... followed by a larger piece. And an even larger one after that. Knowing that his fate was sealed, he instinctively threw Walt away form the iminent danger, who began to cry in confushion as his parents were all but crushed by the flaming roof. The older Izzy's mind had already locked up, unable to think of anything... but his smaller counterpart was unaware of his parents' demise, instead staring at his 'little brother', who was still crying. By then the entire cieling fell on them, and the last thing Izzy saw was himself sprinting towards Walt, his small body letting out a greenish vapor that seemed to melt away the material of his gloves and boots...

Even in the real world, Izzy's eyes sprung open without him realizing it.

"Whoa there," Came the startled female voice of whom he couldn't recognize even if he had bothered to try, and immediately a pair of smooth, slender arms stopped him from falling all the way off the bed. Yet who it was that caught him was the last thing in his mind... the nightmare--almost a vision due to its tremendously lucid nature--had such a horrid effect on him, that for the first few seconds he couldn't find it in him to breathe. "are you okay?"

His eyes wide as saucers, Izzy shivered violently as he gulped down a large amount of air, gaining control of his motor functions and nearly falling over again; if it weren't for those same pair of hands. A mental image of Bunnie flashed in his mind, and his head snapped to stare at whoever it was that was with him. It seemed as though the figure inched back a little as his wide, scared eyes happened upon her.

Rouge had to squint, a little surprised at the sight of Izzy's green, glowing irises. It was an echidna, without a doubt... she couldn't really spot any female parts on his body (at least, based on what she could see at the moment), but he seemed to look more like the nutty Julie-su than Knuckles. That and the strands on his--or her, head was scattered. More seconds passed in silence before Rouge noticed that his eyes had suddenly shifted into a pale silver color. Suddenly feeling a strange amount of concern for the echidna, she took the wet towel on the desk beside them and handed it over. "Nightmare?"

Izzy, still finding it too difficult to speak, nodded slowly, looking away in slight embarrassment and gently applying the towel on his sweat laden forehead. It was here that Rouge had actually noticed his face, and she had to admit, he was attractive... and innocent looking, too. If he was actually a girl then she wouldn't be so surprised. Off-handedly, she noticed that being around this room reminded her of being around the master emerald. Perhaps, maybe it was just around here... Knuckles hadn't told her anything about it. Not that she asked or anything; Julie-su was suspiscious enough already.

"Well, it's over... are you Knuckles' friend?"

Izzy absent-mindedly placed a hand on his right cheek at the mention of that name, remembering the not so friendly elbow the red echidna delivered right below his eye. It was still sore, but he didn't think it was gonna bruise. Somehow, as painful as it was, he knew that Knuckles wasn't showing off his real strength... and that was a scary thought. "I... guess."

"You guess? Well... I guess I'm his friend too." Rouge grinned, though the echidna had once again spaced out, the nightmare still fresh on his mind. She didn't even think he noticed her hand, which was now feeling part of his fore-head that wasn't yet touched by the towel. "No wonder that was there... you're sick."

"Oh..." He could muster up nothing more. His dazed look was telling Rouge everything she needed to know.

"You don't look so hot... lie back down and rest. At least until Knuckles comes along, all right?" Izzy was in no position to disagree... or to say anything coherent, for that matter. It didn't really bother her that he was a complete stranger--his innocent, almost child-like demeanor was softening her up somehow. "Wierd. This is the first time I've seen you, but it feels like--"

"--Yeah, I know the feeling."

She knew to whom that deep voice which had so rudely interrupted her from the door, yes... she knew it very well. The slightest trace of a smile appeared on Rouge's ever charming face as she recalled the conversation she'd overheard a little over an hour ago... but just as quickly, it was replaced by a teasing grin as she turned her head to see the mystery echidna's newest visitor. "Oh?"

"Not so depressed anymore, huh?" Knuckles mused. He could tell there was still something wrong, as her tired eyes dared say what she couldn't. He was simply testing the waters... besides, he knew better than to just disregard Julie-su's instinct as nothing. Well, that and he didn't want her throwing the dreaded 'I told you so' at his face if ever things went wrong. He got enough of that from Sonic.

"You know, that could've used a little more subtlety." Rouge winked, completely aware that she had lifted her melancholy facade... she also knew that he wouldn't be able to convince himself otherwise by the time this conversation was over. She was simply too adept when it came to acting.

"Hrm." Her confidence seemed to have returned, but Knuckles observed that she had already lost much of her gusto compared to when they'd first met. In his case, they just seemed to overestimate his tendency to be gullible. Sometimes he let thing that have happened, happen out of the sheer heck of it. But, he'd be lying if he said he 'wasn't' gullible. "Either way it's nice to see you up and running... is Izzy okay?"

"Ah, so Izzy's his name." Rouge said, albeit more to herself. She found it curious that he wouldn't delve into her miracle change any further... did he actually trust her? Somehow, that just didn't seem right. But now that she thought about it... the female bat could tell poor Knuckles that the eastern side of Angel isle was on fire right this moment and he'd probably run out of here to look for a bucket with no second thoughts whatsoever. Not that she'd ever do that--it was a funny thought, though. "To think that before Julie-su came to the picture, I had thought that your fellow echidnas would go by Palm, or Wrist... maybe Fingers... you know, names like that."

Amused and sarcastic. Yes, this was what Knuckles had expected a recovering Rouge would be like. He didn't know if he fancied the idea... but it was always better than a self-deprecating, moping Rouge. At least she was okay. "Haha."

The white bat's sly smile had by now shifted into a sheepish one, showing a side of her Knuckles rarely saw. And to his great shame, even after the kiss he'd shared with Julie-su, his heart still skipped a beat. "Oh, don't be like that. I'm just teasing... I really am grateful you're letting me stay here."

"...I know." Knuckles' look softened a that, and for a few precious seconds they seemed content to observe each other's eyes, a little smile on both their faces.

"So... is Izzy in a relationship? He's cute." Well, a few precious seconds wasn't very long.

The red echidna nearly choked on air after hearing that, and Rouge laughed. To his utter surprise it wasn't a sly, maniacal laugh, or an evil teasing laugh. It was a genuine happy laugh, and Knuckles immediately found it so endearing he had almost forgotten about what she'd just said. "I uh, no. I don't think so... in the relationship thing I mean, not the cute part--uh, not that I'd know, of course. Ahem."

" Hahaha, I swear you are really something." Rouge began laughing again, and Knuckles wondered whether she was still kidding him. "Don't worry, you're cute too."

Knuckles' cheeks flared red for a second or two as he struggled not to look straight into her eyes. "Can we talk about something else? I... I figured you'd have a lot of questions about Izzy."

"I do. I was just breaking the tension," Unpercieved to Knuckles, Rouge was also trying to shield her obvious attraction to him. There was just something about the ehidna that made her feel so... safe. She thought about how little they had in common, but then again she had recalled reading somewhere the saying 'opposites attract'. "that way I'll get better answers, yes?"

"Point taken." Knuckles said softly, thinking now would be a good time to simply give up trying to understand. "Ask away."

"Well the most obvious question would be why he doesn't look like you," The female bat started, her lop-sided smirk and compelling voice snagging the red echidna hook line and sinker. It wasn't for anything, but as her gaze came upon the dark rims below his eyes, Rouge mentally scolded herself that although it was so much easier to interrogate a sleep deprived being, it would be cruel to take advantage of someone she had come to know and respect, especially at his current state. All things considered, she would make sure that any questions asked would be as quick and to the point as possible--in fact she would probably find it odd if Knuckles didn't do the same. "that, and why his markings are so different from you and Julie."

"Ah. If I'm not mistaken, you're already aware of how our markings work... but knowing you like I do, you've probably reaserched more of this than I have." Rouge smiled a little at that. Gullible as he was, Knuckles definitely wasn't slow. "And since that marking isn't seen in any of the tribes, then you've probably already guessed it..."

"Ancient line, huh?"

"Yeah." Knuckles let out a deep, thoughtful sigh, allowing his neck a most gratifying snap as he flexed his muscles instinctively. Coincidentally, the shapely bat flexed her neck to a soft snap as well, much to Knuckles' surprise. Caught off guard, he let his eyes drink to the pleasantly relaxing visage of her facial features for a few more seconds, before continuing whatever it was the echidna was supposed to explain... he probably wouldn't be able to live through her sarcastic remarks if she had ever noticed him gawking at her like some kind of idiot anyway. "As for the look... I'm not so sure myself. Even the echidnas from centuries back pretty much look like they do now. His green fur is odd as well... although, there could be some logical explanations for that one--mutation, dye, whatever."

"Oh?" Rouge smiled sweetly at the echidna, earning her an oblivious, yet doubtful look from the latter. Her instincts were lighting up. "That's all well and good... but what do _you_ think?"

"Hrm..." Knuckles was silenced for a good while at that one. Truth be told, he had never really given the situation any serious thought--at least, in a way that he had not yet completely sided the explanation which he branded as the most convincing. At the moment however, Echidnopolis' book of ancients and the markings on Izzy's chest merged to tell quite an interesting piece of mythical history, a story which he had found to be both illogical in every sense of the word, and yet probably the only explanation that truly fit like a glove. Just a few days ago he would've simply dismissed this as crazy, but after having been exposed to the enormous wave of energy the mysterious echidna held inside him firsthand, there were hardly any doubts left. However, now wasn't the best time to make her aware of such sensitive information. "I think there's more to it than that. I just haven't figured it out yet."

His purposely vague choice of words registering into her mind, Rouge hissed out a breath she didn't even know she held, a soft pout forming on her face as the female bat shook her head in obvious disappointment. She had expected Knuckles to have at least done his homework about what exactly Izzy was, and the way he had replied to her first question hinted that he knew exactly what he was talking about... which could only mean that he was definitely hiding something. But it wasn't like she was some goody goody saint either; she'd masterfully kept hidden the fact that she was actually still with the government, and the sole purpose of her stay was actually to locate the master emerald so... calling it even didn't even cut it. In other words, Rouge didn't believe him, but she still trusted the echidna enough to convince herself that he was only playing things safe. In fact, she was beginning to hope that the emerald wouldn't turn up anytime soon... she still hadn't the guts to perform the deed without suffering from any kind of emotional stress. For the record, it also didn't hurt that she enjoyed his company. "I... see."

As Rouge wrestled with the thought of being denied a juicy story, Knuckles absent-mindedly brought his gaze towards the slumbering figure on the bed. The master emerald was safe at least... but now things were so much more complicated. Izzy was holding a wild card he probably didn't know he had, and there was no telling what could happen. He pondered about the situation for a moment, as he fought the urge to get anymore agitated than he already was.

As of now, there were two sources in the world with this kind of power--and if what he'd read was true... then, was the master emerald itself incomplete? Or was the green echidna simply reflecting its energy...? All he really knew for sure was that whatever reason it could possibly be... that stubborn psycho Eggman had a ninety-nine percent chance of being involved in it. 'What a stupid time to disappear, Sonic...'

o-----

"No Tails, I _don't_ understand it," Bunnie almost yelled into the small pink cellular phone which could have belonged to none other than Amy, apparently unable to make sense of what the two-tailed fox was telling her. Not that she couldn't make out what he was saying, rather, it was more that the street smart rabbit couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Knuckles asks Izzy to go all the way there just to pummel'im??? Does that sound logical to ya?! Uhuh... yeah, there'd better be an explanation!"

"Could you ask him if Sonic's there?" Came the chirpy voice of the phone's owner, her instincts of concern overpowering her curiosity as she subconsciously figured that the echidna would have a reason for such things--he always did anyway... "Pleaaase?"

"Later all right?" The half-cyborg rabbit snapped sweetly, quickly returning all of her attention to the phone and resuming her annoyed, baffled mood. "No I didn't mean you Tails... look, I don't mean ta yell, just... can ya put Knuckles on the phone? Huh? What do you mean you're about to leave the island--"

"--Quick, ask him about Sonic before he leaves so I can still talk to him just in case!"

"What was that? Wait, no, not you Tails... argh, why can't you get Knuckles now, where is he? Eh, then why can't I speak with him, and what's with all that racket? You're already flying?!--"

"--see whatcha did? Now I can't talk to Sonic!"

"Amy please! Not now!" Bunnie scolded, having placed her hand over the phone's reciever this time. The young hedgehog glared up a pair of daggers at her in defiant innocence as the half-cyborg continued the conversation. "What's the hurry anyway? Oh. Central City huh... is it safe to leave'im with them at least? Well... if you're sure. Keep me updated, okay? Bye."

"Hold on! Ask him about Sonic!"

"Oh... too late."

"WHAT? Redial!"

"Uhm, can't... Tails was calling from the Tornado so the number wasn't shown." Not like Bunnie really cared, anyway... Sonic obviously wasn't on Angel island.

"NOOOooo!"

As the two began another tedious session of their famous hour long arguments, just outside Amy's front door stood a very concerned young fox, his furry ears twitching as he struggled to overhear their conversation. True, it had only been a day since Tails and his uncle left for Angel island, but he had never been seperated from Izzy, even for just a short amount of time and--being the little fox that he was--an undesirable pang of empty depression and the very familiar urge of restlessness were now beginning to settle into Walt's head.

"Hey--"

"AAAH!--"

"--EEEP!!!"

Silence.

"Sorry, miss Mina..."

"It's... it's okay..." The yellow furred mongoose placed a shaky hand over her chest, feeling very much like her easily startled heart was about to burst from its bony cage. How was she supposed to know little Walt was the same? "so... you're worried about your uncle?"

The young fox said nothing, but the lonely nod was more than enough an answer for her, his vivid eyes a testament for the tremendous concern he had for Izzy. Having softened up considerably due to Walt's--albeit very cute--gesture, Mina immediately decided to do a little something for him, gently taking the dark brown fox by the hand and, with an empathic smile, lead him towards her home all the way over in the other side of Knothole. "where are we going, miss Mina?"

"Well... Bunnie'll let you know if something's happened, I promise. For now though..." Mina adjusted the ebony headband that held back her long purple hair, grinning at Walt's curious look. She wasn't sure he was going to like it but, not very many people didn't. "how'd you like to be the first to try my newly baked mango cream pie?"

"M-mango cream pie?!" Walt's mouth watered instantly at the mere mention of the word. His favorite fruit was mango; a craving he had recieved from his uncle, and when it came to a child, pies and cakes are the epitome of happiness.

The yellow mongoose's smile widened brilliantly as his eagerness made itself known. Bingo.

Meanwhile, deep within one of the more forested areas of Knothole sat a purple figure with yellow, piercing eyes, its form without any trace of movement--almost nothing but an inorganic statue hidden in the shadows, amidst the plentiful trees. For a while it seemed as though this scenic painting would remain still forever, until a small beeping noise which had originated from the purple figure's wrist broke the eerie, deafening silence, causing a few of the resting birds to fly away in confusion as the leaves rustled and began to sway in the wind. The painting was given life.

"Espio," It replied coldly to the noise. Quickly and efficiently, the living statue brought its wrist close to its mouth, resuming a stone-like stance once more, untold years of training in the ways of stealth and espionage having culminated into this near perfect form. "speak."

"Espio, it's Mighty," His wrist answered, the static voice a mix of fear and apprehension. "bad news."

The purple figure known as Espio let out a disappointed sigh. He knew it.. "It's... true, then."

"I'm afraid so. Charmy and Vector triple checked to make sure." The voice imitated Espio's sigh, seemingly agitated further by the news he had given out. "As if that wasn't bad enough, Rouge is after the Master Emerald as well... she lied to us."

"Yeah, I figured."

"Any ideas?"

Espio let his thoughts wander for a while, his tactical mind going on overdrive as he calmly searched for any solution they could possibly acquire. Unfortunately, the options that presented themselves weren't enough to change the situation; so he opted for the next best thing. "We'll have to wait this out."

"If you say so... and Rouge? Who tells Knuckles?"

"Nobody tells him."

The line went silent for a few seconds, before the voice which had come from Mighty decided to answer. "Really? Are you sure?"

"Just because Knuckles trusts her, doesn't mean he believes her." Espio nodded to nothing in particular, closing his eyes thoughtfully, and adopting a meditative stance. With Julie-su accompanying those two up there, Rouge's little plan was a lost cause. "And even if he did, Rouge'll still have trouble taking the Emerald. Trust me on this one."

"And when have I not?" The voice replied sarcastically, as if to say that he had agreed to some half-baked ideas as well in the past. Espio said nothing, but Mighty could pretty much imagine the grin forming on Espio's face. "All right chief. Chaotix does nothing. So when are you coming back?"

"With what Eggman's up to, he probably won't want the freedom fighters in the way... it'll take me at least several hours to inspect the village for anything planted."

"Two days it is. I'll keep you posted."

"Yep, thanks."

_Sonic the Hedgehog - Emerald story, Chapter Three, Epilogue... _

If, for some disturbingly unrealistic reason the humanoid robot actually possessed the slightest hint of a mind... then it would have probably ran away without any second thoughts. Unfortunately, it was not that lucky. But all things considered, even if it did have half a mind for common sense... the furious blue hedgehog which it had the misfortune to cross would have annihilated the poor metal creation either way. And now, with its final moments at hand, it could only stare idifferently upon its severed limbs, right beside its once glimmering torso which was now oil-ridden and mangled beyond repair. The red and white shoe which had inevitably come to take whatever shred of life the cyborg had, spent no time in crushing its head, ripping circuits and flattening computer chips in a merciless display.

"Tch... what're your stupid robots doing here?" Sonic spat, ultimately annoyed by Eggman's subtle annoyances. But in a way, he was relieved--at least the severely stressed hedgehog could finally vent out his frustrations on these things, as his temper was definitely reaching its breaking point. He was, for the first time in his life, in an incredibly dangerous mood, and Sonic himself was beginning to fear his own ferocity. "You're ordering me to do this, and at the same time you're trying to stop me? This is nuts."

"Pah, blame yourself. Those robots were created mainly to destroy you, so good luck with that." Eggman's voice echoed from the intercom, and Sonic's mood became even fouler. But the heavyset scientist knew his creations would be capable of virtually nothing except perhaps, get in the furball's way for a split second. He could only hope that one of those mindless goons get lucky and actually hurt the little runt. "And even if I did have the means to shut them down from all the way up here, do you think I would?"

"You're right. I probably gave you too much credit thinking you'd be smart enough to just give up and stop wasting your time makin' these things." A small grin began to form on the edge of Sonic's lips as the mere sound of his nemesis' sneer allowed him to regain some of his mental composure. At least he still kept his wit at times like these. "Still there? Or didja finally get a heart attack?"

"Best mind your tongue you little rat! Or your friends will find themselves--"

"Fine, fine. Jeez." Sonic shrugged, carefully hiding his increasing concern for his friends. Eggman was not the type to make bluffs. And Sonic simply couldn't afford to call it--there was too much at stake. "Now what?"

"North-west."

"Eh?"

"I've tracked the fourth emerald's position, north-west! Now are you going to look for it or not?"

Sonic sighed, looking on helplessly at his surroundings. The deserted area of underground Westopolis, in terms of size was like a city in itself... only this one had winding streets that sometimes went at least twenty levels downward. The facilities and warehouses stretched on endlessly, and to top it all off Eggman's robots littered most of what he could see. "Could you be a little more specific?"

"No. It's underground and out of my satellite's range. You'll have to do most of the looking now."

"For pete's sake!" Sonic huffed angrily, rummaging his backpack for a compass. Actually, with his speed he could easily get through this in less than an hour... unfortunately, the sheer number of rooms and levels underground Westopolis possessed, and the fact that he was looking for something that could easily be hidden in one of those rooms would most likely slow down his search dramatically. "This is gonna be a long day..."

o-----

Author's Notes: I haven't worked on this in a while... sorry if I've let some people down (I really am sorry), my first year of College was kinda tough... but right now, you guys have my word. I'll work on this more. As for the story itself, I wasn't able to explain as many things as I wanted to explain in this chapter without ruining future confrontations, but at least I've made some things clear :). More characters to be introduced and questions to be answered, very soon!

Extra explanations (story-related): The anti-Mobius/anti-Freedom Fighters do not exist. That being said, Evil-Sonic didn't step in the real Mobius out of boredom, Antoine was never replaced. His relationship with Bunnie basically became monotonous and boring (partly, I removed it because I didn't really like the story all in all, and it made Bunnie single again :P). I hope that cleared up some things.


End file.
